Funny story, I didn’t mean to start the keto diet. My best friend has been doing it for a few months, and I was not really paying close attention to her journey. I assumed it was too restrictive for me, and I love food, so conversely hate “restrictive”. I’ve been lowering calories, eating more protein/vegetables, fewer carbs and working out. I feel great, but I’m not really losing weight, which is frustrating. But, being 44, i was beginning to accept it as part of my metabolic process. The funny thing is, one day I felt like total, deep-fried dog crap. It was right before going on vacation: body aches, dizziness, irritability, I was sure I caught the flu. IN SUMMER!! Awful. However, the next day I woke up, feeling mildly better, and a conversation with my bestie came back to me. Could this be keto flu???? I loaded up on electrolytes that day, WHAM it was gone. I went on vacation and just limited my carbs because I wanted to eat all the good stuff (fatty, hot cheesy, meaty scrumptiousness), but not get gluten bloat. I LOST WEIGHT. YEAAHHHH!!!!!! So I did some research and realized that keto was definitely for me because it really is all my favorite foods. I love to cook, so I had been creating clean, gluten free recipes for quite some time. So now I’m here with you because I loved the name of your blog, just about every recipe appeals to me, as does your writing style. So relatable. I just wanted to share how excited I am to be here, at ground zero of what is to me, a life changing experience. Starting a diet is usually done with grim determination, but today, I’ve never been more excited to start a diet! Looking forward to exploring this gem of a site!
It’s probably keto flu, make sure you’re drinking lots of water – get plenty of sodium, magnesium supplements and lite salt (potassium) are also helpful. It should only last another day or two until your body adjusts, but if you feel really bad then don’t push it or check with your doctor because something else could be wrong with you. Hope you feel better soon!
My husband and I started Ideal Protein last July and had lost about 60 pounds each by November. We decided to take a break for the holidays, and unfortunately, our holidays are still going. Like you mentioned, we both have 10 to 15 pounds we keep gaining and losing, and we can’t seem to get back the momentum we had last fall. I am so excited about your meal plans! I think we could actually be satisfied enough to stick to these plans and get back on track. They look really tasty, and I love how the ingredients are pretty easy to find. Thank you for your time and effort!
Keeping your tastebuds entertained while following a keto diet does not have to be a struggle. Some low-carb, high-fat dieters find that they have the most success with their diet when they eat consistent meals on a regular basis and do not deviate from their plan. Others find that if their diet has too much repetition it will get boring and difficult to stick to. Whether you choose to stick to a set of staple meals that you eat every week or you’d rather spice things up, there are plenty of amazing food choices on the ketogenic diet.

By the way, I love your blog. I started following you on Pinterest probably about 2 years ago when I started in on the Paleo WOE. I only survived about 3 months of that before I fell off the wagon but I am back now and more ready than ever to finish losing this weight and be truly healthy! Anyway, I saw the name of your site on Pinterest and it made me giggle because that is so me. Your Jalapeno Chicken Wings are on my menu for tonight.

Over 8–10 mmol/l: It’s normally impossible to get to this level just by eating a keto diet. It means that something is wrong. The most common cause by far is type 1 diabetes, with severe lack of insulin. Symptoms include feeling very sick with nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain and confusion. The possible end result, ketoacidosis, may be fatal and requires immediate medical care. Learn more
This doesn’t mean that you can never have some of your favorite foods again. Once you get past the adaptation phase and you have tested that you are in Ketosis, you can start experimenting with Keto versions of the foods you don't want to give up. Here are a few simple Keto recipes to start with. If you're looking for ready-to-eat Keto-friendly options, check out Country Archer Meat Sticks, Cuvee Coffee and FBOMB nut butters.
Early studies reported high success rates: in one study in 1925, 60% of patients became seizure-free, and another 35% of patients had a 50% reduction in seizure frequency. These studies generally examined a cohort of patients recently treated by the physician (what is known as a retrospective study) and selected patients who had successfully maintained the dietary restrictions. However, these studies are difficult to compare to modern trials. One reason is that these older trials suffered from selection bias, as they excluded patients who were unable to start or maintain the diet and thereby selected from patients who would generate better results. In an attempt to control for this bias, modern study design prefers a prospective cohort (the patients in the study are chosen before therapy begins) in which the results are presented for all patients regardless of whether they started or completed the treatment (known as intent-to-treat analysis).[18]

Question 2: Half of my family, including me, cannot do spicy. Now when I say spicy, Mild Rotel is spicy to us. So, can you suggest a comparable substitute? For instance, your Classic Buffalo Wings sound absolutely delicious but Frank’s Hot Sauce is way too spicy. When we make wings we usually make them sweet and not spicy. But also in other recipes, spicy spices are utilized so I wondered if there is a comparable spice to use? Again, if you have already addressed this topic, please just point me in the right direction and I will educate myself.

But generally speaking, if you plan to follow a ketogenic diet, you should aim to consume less than 10 percent of your total calories from carbohydrates per day. The remaining calories should come from 20 to 30 percent protein and 60 to 80 percent fat. That means if you follow a daily 2,000-calorie diet, no more than 200 of your calories (or 50 grams) should come from carbs, while 400 to 600 calories should come from protein and 1,200 to 1,600 should come from fat. (There’s a reason this plan is also called a high-fat, low-carb diet!)
Now, Week 1’s shopping list is going to be long. I have to make the assumption you have nothing in your house. Many of the items are common items that most people will have already. These are all staples in my everyday cooking for keto, and should be considered an investment for your health. Once you have all of the items from week 1, there won’t be too much else to buy.
Well 18 is pretty close to 20, and I’m so mad at myself for letting it happen! I kept thinking I could lose it all fast by getting back on the wagon, but now it will probably take me months. So irritating! Congrats on three pounds and getting a head start on us! Keep us posted in the weekly Saturday thread on how you’re doing OK? And yes, DRINK MORE WATER! ha ha!
UPDATE: Hi! It’s been 4 weeks already. I am still cooking keto and enjoying many delicious dessert too! I have finally convinced my husband to totally convert to keto food. It’s only been one week since he stopped using diet package food. He is very happy with the food he get to eat and still losing weight but much slower pace this week. That’s because I have been giving him larger portions as this is the first week for him. Since he was already on low carb diet prior to this, keto flue may be not as bad but still want to keep him happy and better transition experience. Meanwhile, I get to cook keto for the whole family and really enjoying the new way of eating and cooking. I have lost total of 6 lb but that was enough to prove to my husband eating bacon and butter is ok as long as we are on keto diet. I was only doing this to convert my husband since he doesn’t have any interest in nutrition or theory behind it, so what he sees is what he believes. 6 lb may not sounds a lot for 4 weeks but I was already below average weight , so it was a lot of loss for me. I think it’s a science 5-30-65 combination works on everyone. Now I just eat more portions of everything ,so we can still eat same food. Today, he had a once a week appointment with his ideal protein dietitian. Seems like they are not convinced that he can still continue to lose weight unless he eat their packaged food. I plan to continue sending him there for once a week appointment , so he sill have something to be accountable for. Next few weeks, I’m hoping he won’t be as hungry so I can start portion control his food without his knowledge, LOL.

Someone posted Dr. Wortman’s interview on facebook. Very good, especially b/c I was on the right track without knowledge of Dr. Wortman or of the ketogenic diet. However, I was still eating a small amount of bread. My diabetes has improved since eating healthier, as he recommends. I’ve been at it now for 8 months (diagnosed w/type 2 Dec 8, 2011). For the past 3 days I have had no bread. We will see how much that helps. All I can say is ‘bravo’ to the ketogenic diet!

Since this is my full-time job, donations really help me keep afloat and allow me to post as much to the website as I do. I really appreciate any donation you want to give, but you can change the price yourself. I’ve added in $15 as the suggested price. I think that’s a very fair price considering other websites are charging in the hundreds of dollars, and I’ve seen what they are like on the inside.
No matter what your diet has been before now, keto will be a big change. If you're coming from a standard American diet (SAD), your carbs will go way down, your protein may either go up or down, and your fat will go way up. If you're coming from a bodybuilding-style diet, your fat intake will jump to alarming levels, and your protein will likely drop significantly.
Low carb diets focus on keto recipes (also known as ketogenic recipes) like the ones below to keep your blood sugar stable, helping your body regain insulin sensitivity and keeping your mood and energy levels stable. Also, since processed food has so many additives – usually sugar included – low carb diets encourage you to cook for yourself. This leads to eating more whole foods and improving your diet in that way as well.
One area where food tracking can be especially helpful, though, is ensuring that you're hitting the right ratios of macronutrients—protein, carbs, and fat. "The most researched version of the ketogenic diet derives 70 percent of calories from healthy fats, 20 percent from protein, and only 10 percent from carbs," explains Charles Passler, D.C., nutritionist, and founder of Pure Change. "In the ideal world, each keto meal and snack should have that same (70/20/10) ratio of macronutrients, but studies have shown that you'll still achieve great results even if each meal varies slightly from that ratio, just as long as you don't exceed 50 grams per day of carbs, or eat those carbs in one sitting," says Passler. In order to achieve these ratios without a preset meal plan from a dietitian or doctor, some food tracking is probably going to be necessary. But once you get the hang of things, you may not need it anymore.
Normal dietary fat contains mostly long-chain triglycerides (LCT). Medium-chain triglycerides are more ketogenic than LCTs because they generate more ketones per unit of energy when metabolised. Their use allows for a diet with a lower proportion of fat and a greater proportion of protein and carbohydrate,[3] leading to more food choices and larger portion sizes.[4] The original MCT diet developed by Peter Huttenlocher in the 1970s derived 60% of its calories from MCT oil.[15] Consuming that quantity of MCT oil caused abdominal cramps, diarrhoea and vomiting in some children. A figure of 45% is regarded as a balance between achieving good ketosis and minimising gastrointestinal complaints. The classical and modified MCT ketogenic diets are equally effective and differences in tolerability are not statistically significant.[9] The MCT diet is less popular in the United States; MCT oil is more expensive than other dietary fats and is not covered by insurance companies.[3]
Your body is going to be like an angry child having a tantrum – IT WANTS SUGAR AND CARBS NOW, but you aren’t going to give it any are you? ARE YOU??? Just like with children, the key is to distract, distract, distract (oooh shiny!). Give it something else desirable, (bacon, cheese, etc.) even if it isn’t what it really wants. Don’t give in thinking you’ll feel better if you just eat a little bit of carbs – there is no compromising!
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because the recipes don’t mention quantities it’s hard to know how much it’s okay to eat of the carb foods. How much carbs is in those foods like kale, cauliflower, lettuce a.s.o. What about mushrooms ? Love to use them as a ‘filler’ instead of bread. Also hard to know how much is too much protein? Cheese, meat, bacon, yoghurt, tuna…. they all are full of protein.

0.2 loss today and I was not hungry yesterday. So I think this is better to eat a bit more for my satiety , slower loss but more sustainable. I was able to talk my husband into eating bacon and egg this morning! Slowly easing him into converting. I want to be able to make a meal that whole family can enjoy instead of making many separate meals for each individual( way too much work!).
A systematic review in 2016 found and analysed seven randomized controlled trials of ketogenic diet in children and young people with epilepsy.[2] The trials were done among children and young people for whom drugs failed to control their seizures, and only one of the trials compared a group assigned to ketogenic diet with a group not assigned to one.[16] The other trials compared types of diets or ways of introducing them to make them more tolerable.[2] Nearly 40% of the children and young people had half or fewer seizures with the diet compared with the group not assigned to the diet. Only about 10% were still on the diet after a few years.[2] Adverse effects such as hunger and loss of energy in that trial were common, with about 30% experiencing constipation.[16]
Hello. I’m a kept newbie. Started 6 days ago today. By day 4 I was down 10lbs. I’m following the 20 or less carbs a day, altho I more like less than 10 on most days. I have only wanted to harm someone for a cookie twice, and my bf for his fried potatoes once. I’m honestly shocked at how much food I really can eat with no carbs. And then on some days, shocked at how many carbs are in other things. Headaches and lack of energy are the only thing that I find bothersome, but i am pushing thru it. Thank u for a very detailed site. It’s helped me, and a coworker.

The ketogenic diet has recently become very popular, and many food companies want to cash in by putting a “ketogenic” or “low carb” label on a new product. Be very cautious of special “keto” or “low-carb” products, such as pastas, chocolate bars, energy bars, protein powders, snack foods, cakes, cookies and other “low carb” or “ketogenic” treats. Read all labels carefully for natural low carb ingredients. The fewer ingredients the better.

One thing many people love about keto diet meal plans is that tracking your food is optional. "One of the biggest benefits of the ketogenic diet is that there's no need to meticulously track your calories like you may in other diets," notes Dr. Josh Axe, D.N.M., C.N.S., D.C., founder of DrAxe.com, best-selling author of Eat Dirt, and cofounder of Ancient Nutrition. "Because you're filling up on fat and protein, you're more likely to feel satisfied and energized all day long, which causes you to naturally eat less." This isn't to say that food tracking on keto is discouraged. "Some people may find calorie counting a useful tool to be more mindful and aware of what they're eating, but it's not necessary on the ketogenic diet," says Dr. Axe, but there's no need to get too stressed about hitting a certain caloric goal, especially if you're not trying to lose weight. (Related: The #1 Reason to Stop Counting Calories)

Mellissa, I didn’t read through all the comments … just half :) Wondering if this will work for someone who’s a diet controlled diabetic? The nutritionist said I should have 45 carb meals and 20 carb snacks … I’ve been gaining weight steadily BUT my blood sugars are awesome! I’m working with a double edge sword here. My biggest issue (other than always feeling bloated) is I have to have a good, hefty snack at midnight each night to keep my blood sugars within range in the morning. Needless to say my waistline no longer exists … buy hey … my blood sugars are good. *rolling eyes*
Over 8–10 mmol/l: It’s normally impossible to get to this level just by eating a keto diet. It means that something is wrong. The most common cause by far is type 1 diabetes, with severe lack of insulin. Symptoms include feeling very sick with nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain and confusion. The possible end result, ketoacidosis, may be fatal and requires immediate medical care. Learn more